Frank Ross Anderson
Number of games in database: 61
Years covered: 1948 to 1964
Overall record: +38 -8 =15 (74.6%)* * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.

Frank Ross Anderson was born in Edmonton Alberta, Canada.
Awarded the IM title in 1954 he was Canadian Champion in 1953 (jointly) and 1955.
He won gold medals for Canada playing second board at the Amsterdam 1954 (+13=2-2) and the Munich 1958 (+9=3-1) Olympiads, as well as representing 2nd Canadian board at the 1964 Olympiad.
He moved to San Diego California, USA in 1964 and retired from chess and passed away there in 1980. Paul Vaitonis wrote a chess column for the Hamilton Spectator until 1955, when Frank became chess editor until 1964, & assisting Hamilton club secretary Myer Harris continued the column for a short period.

Anderson, Frank Ross, international chess master (born at Edmonton, Alta 3 Jan 1938; died at San Diego, Calif 18 Sept 1980). Bedridden for 5 years with arthritis, he discovered CHESS at age 15. His first steps outside led to the chess club. Anderson won the Canadian championship 1953 and 1958, but his greatest success was at the Chess Olympics. In 1954 at Amsterdam and again in 1958 at Munich he won the gold medal on 2nd board. He would have gained the grandmaster title in Munich, but reaction to an incorrect prescription prevented him from appearing for the final game. In the late 1960s he moved to San Diego, where he ran a tax consulting business.

IMlday: Better to publish wrong info and get corrected, than no info at all!

Anderson, from youth, had polio; he was disabled his whole life. Just getting to the Toronto Chess Club, up three flights of stairs, was an accomplishment for his crutches. That behind-the-scenes Soviet shenanigans ruined his GM title
at the Olymiads is fairly well understood now. He only played 3 international events, and had two olymipic board gold medals to show for it.
Quite the career for a disabled competitor.

brankat: For a Canadian, a disabled one at that. to be awarded an IM title in 1954, at the age of only 26 (in those days it was young, chess-wise) must have been quite an accomplishment! Plus 2 times best Olympic score on his board, and a few Canadian Championships!

All this suggests a considerable talent.

I don't understand IM L.Day's remark about Soviets "ruining" Mr.Anderson's chance to obtain the GM title at the Olympics. What would have been in it for them?

Petrosianic: <That behind-the-scenes Soviet shenanigans ruined his GM title at the Olymiads is fairly well understood now.>

What behind-the-scenes shenanigans? The story I've always heard is that he had the GM norm clinched as long as he played his final game, regardless of whether he won, lost or drew. But he was taken ill and was unable to play the last game, due to taking the wrong prescription medicine and so came up one game short of the Norm requirements.

They should have given him the title anyway. It's silly that a loss should be better than a non-appearance. Later on they sometimes waived the requirement. Gaprindashvili and Edmar Mednis got the GM title in the 70's in similar situations (they had the norms but came up a game or two short of the 24 game requirement).

perfidious: < Petrosianic: <That behind-the-scenes Soviet shenanigans ruined his GM title at the Olymiads is fairly well understood now.>
What behind-the-scenes shenanigans?...>

This is news to me also.

<....They should have given (Anderson) the title anyway....Later on they sometimes waived the requirement. Gaprindashvili and Edmar Mednis got the GM title in the 70's in similar situations (they had the norms but came up a game or two short of the 24 game requirement).>

Never knew this about either Mednis or Gaprindashvili, but remember Seirawan getting his GM title in such circumstances.

It was wrong indeed that Anderson failed to receive the title because of FIDE playing bureaucrat instead of being sensible.

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